View full sizeChuck Crow / The Plain DealerA solid defender whether in center or one of the corner outfield positions, Michael Brantley has to demonstrate the on-base success that will allow him to take advantage of his speed.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- If this works, Matt LaPorta and Michael Brantley will be the starting point. The Indians' latest rebuild began in 2008, and LaPorta and Brantley were the first two vital pieces.

On Feb. 18, they'll go to spring training in Goodyear, Ariz., with a great chance to be everyday players in manager Manny Acta's lineup. They are healthy and fit with no obstacles in their way.

The best thing is that they have much to prove. People have seen them on TV, read about them in the newspapers and on the Internet, but Cleveland has yet to see them at the top of their game.

"I don't think they have," said LaPorta. "They've see some spurts. But being in the big leagues is about being consistent. That's what I'm looking for this year."

Brantley agreed.

"Absolutely, not," he said. "Not in my mind. I'm not happy at all [about how I've played]. Even though I did finish strong last year, I want to continue that through the entire season.

"The Cleveland fans deserve to see it. Hopefully, they'll do that in 2011. I've trained really hard and I'm ready to show all my talents."

When the Indians sent CC Sabathia to Milwaukee in July 2008, they received four players. LaPorta, Zach Jackson and Rob Bryson arrived immediately. The Indians needed Jackson, a left-hander, to get through the season, but he wasn't a big part of the deal. Bryson was a hard-throwing prospect who injured his right shoulder, but made impressive strides last year. LaPorta and Brantley -- the player to be named in the deal -- were the key parts of the trade.

LaPorta was the Brewers' No. 1 pick, the seventh player taken overall in the 2007 draft. The chance he's getting this year could have happened last season, but he underwent surgery on his left hip and left big toe during the off-season and it limited him. He hit .221 (83-for-376) with 15 doubles, 12 homers and 41 RBI in 110 games.

View full sizeChuck Crow / The Plain DealerFully healed from surgeries before the 2010 season, Matt LaPorta will be expected to show the power that made him a first-round draft pick for the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2007 draft.

It was not a year to remember. LaPorta hit .216 (22-for-102) against lefties, .223 (61-for-274) against righties and .147 (19-for-129) from Aug. 10 through the end of the year.

"I worked so hard to get to 100 percent last year, that when I got to that point, my body started getting tired because it was close to the end of the season," said LaPorta. "But again, it was a great learning experience to go through struggles and injuries like that."

This winter, LaPorta has actually been able to be a baseball player. He's been hitting and fielding for about a month.

"It's been fun to be able to prepare for a season," he said.

LaPorta, who turned 26 on Jan. 8, is being counted on to give the Indians right-handed power. He knows that power starts with consistency.

"That's what the Indians expect out of me," he said. "That's what I expect out of myself."

Brantley, 23, bounced between Cleveland and Class AAA Columbus three times last year. He hit .156 in the big leagues on the first bounce and .157 on the second. The third time, he hit.296 (57-for-195) from Aug. 6 through the end of the season.

"You can't play tense," said Brantley. "That's one of the big things I was doing. I was playing so tense that my true ability wasn't showing up. My bat speed wasn't the same because I was squeezing the bat too tight just because I was so tense at the plate.

"At the same time, I learned how to calm myself down ... I'm going to continue to do that."

If Grady Sizemore is healthy, Brantley will start in left. Where he hits depends on how Acta uses Sizemore. If Acta moves Sizemore down in the lineup, Brantley has a chance to lead off. If Sizemore leads off, Brantley would probably hit at the bottom of the order.

Brantley has played 100 games for the Indians since the trade, 85 in center field and 83 hitting leadoff. He's hit .268 (97-for-362) with 42 runs, a .314 on-base percentage, a .340 slugging percentage and 13 steals from the leadoff spot. If Sizemore is traded sometime during the season, Brantley is his logical replacement. All he has to do is play like it.

Pitching in: The Indians have interest in Kevin Millwood, but not at a one-year deal worth $4 million to $5 million. They also have continued talking to Jeremy Bonderman.

If they sign Millwood or Bonderman to a big-league contract, somebody will have to be dropped from the major-league roster. They're at 40 players right now.

The good book: In "The Bill James Handbook 2011," Brantley is projected to hit .268 with 81 runs, 22 doubles, three triples, five homers, 46 RBI, 32 steals in 42 attempts and a .683 OPS. LaPorta is projected to hit .257 with 29 doubles, one triple, 22 homers, 74 RBI and a .773 OPS. Shin-Soo Choo is projected to hit .299 with 33 doubles, three triples, 20 homers, 88 RBI, 19 steals and a .873 OPS.

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